Microsoft makes OpenAI o1 model free for Copilot users.

OpenAI’s most advanced AI model “o1” which is known for its problem solving and deeper thinking has been available behind a $20 per month ChatGPT premium subscription. ChatGPT premium gives limited acess for $20 a month and unlimited access for $200 a month.

Copilot let’s you use it for free.

Microsoft has a tight partnership with OpenAI and is also on a mission to put their AI (Copilot) across every Microsoft Service it offers with huge capability and features even on theor “free” tiers.

Copilot Consumer Pro users have had access to Think Deeper (which uses the o1 model) for the past 12 months, but Microsoft have now made this feature free to everyone including those using the free version of Copilot.

To access it, you need to simply head ovee to Copilot on the web, (or via the mobile app) and ensure you are signed in with a Microsoft account (MSA). You then get completed free access to the Think Deeper search (which uses the o1 model).

How to get Microsoft Copilot

To get Copilot, head to the web (you actually find Copilot in the Edge browser) and go to https://copilot.microsoft.com or head over to you phones app store and search for Copilot and install it.

You need to be signed in with your Microsoft account to use these features.

Using o1 features aka Think Deeper

Once in Copilot, use the AI chat as you would before (or like you did in ChatGPT) and you will see a “think deeper” button inside the text input box.

Using Copilot’s Think Deeper (ChatGPT model o1)

Selecting it activates the o1 reasoning model. As it processed your prompt, you also get a spinning symbol since searches and responses using o1 are more thorough that with GPT 4 and typpically take around 30 secs.

Using Copilot’s Think Deeper.

This is Microsoft’s way of letting you know that you’re in for around a 20-30 seconds wait. If you don’t need deep search so for normal use), toggle this back off to go back to the super fast GPT-4o version…

So what can o1 do then?

The deep thinker feature of Microsoft Copilot is much better for more complex tasks and research due to the o1 model ability for in depth reasoning. 

As such it is simply better for solving complex issues like math, logic or science, for analysing or creating long or richer documents and reports or for code creation and debug. The best way to test this is to run two Copilot Windows side by side and test out the same prompt with and without Think Deeper enabled.

Content created with o1 is also more “accurate” with far less AI hallucinations (aka, making things up).

Why do many GPTs Hallucinate? In general, GPT models learn by mimicking patterns in their training data (huge amounts of data). The o1 model uses a different technique called reinforcement learning, whereby it's language model works things out (though it's training) by rewarding the right answers and penalising wrong ones. This takes longer through the iterative and testing process. Once done the model  moves through queries in a step-by-step fashion much like human problem  solving. 

o1 limitations?

It is worth noting that o1 isn’t quite on the same level as ChatGPT in some areas. It is less effective with factual knowledge and is currently less able to search the Internet and cannot process files and images.

What about DeepSeek?

The big story this week has of course been DeepSeek, a controversial Chinese AI firm that has announced and launched their own GPT-4 and o1 rivals that have been supposedly built at a fraction of the cost of OpenAI, Google and other US models, shaking share prices, disrupting the market and rasing many questions.

What is more is more is that DeepSeek models are claimed to be more advanced and faster than GPT-4o and smarter that o1.

The advent of DeepSeek has sent shockwaves through the tech industry. Global stock markets have reeled, sparking a cascade of investigations and looming threats of bans.

Yet, the bot hasn’t been without its champions. Interestly, Microsoft – OpenAI’s top financial invester and partner  – has already embraced the DeepSeek R1 reasoning model, and has integrating it into Azure AI Foundry and also GitHub.

These platforms, beloved by developers for fostering advanced AI projects, now stand as the new playground for DeepSeek’s innovative potential.

DeepSeek logo

Open AI Strikes Back

In the wake of its free mobile app’s viral triumph, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman swiftly revealed plans to accelerate the rollout of new releases to keep ahead of its new Chinese competitor.

OpenAI are not standing still either though. Et the end of December 2024, month, they began  trialing twin AI models, o3 and o3 mini. Remarkably, the former has surpassed o1 in coding, mathematics, and scientific capabilities, marking a significant advancement in their AI prowess.

There is no doubt this is an area that doesn’t stand still. By the time I click publish this post will likely already be out of date!


DeepSeek has certainly ignited an even greater sense of urgency within the already dynamic AI sector which moves and evolves on an almost daily basis.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT Gov for U.S. Government Agencies

This week, in a significant development amidst the backdrop of intensifying AI competitiveness, OpenAI has unveiled ChatGPT Gov

This customised version of the AI-powered chatbot platform is tailored specifically for U.S government agencies, providing them with an advanced tool to access and utilise Open AI technology.

Microsoft announced back in 2023 that its Azure OpenAI Service was available for Azure Government customers. The new service will allow government agencies to use generative AI capabilities in a way that meets security and privacy requirements. OpenAI can now also be deployed in Microsoft Gov Data Centres.

What is ChatGPT Gov?

So ChatGPT Gov mirrors many capabilities of OpenAI’s enterprise-focused tier, ChatGPT Enterprise. By leveraging this platform, Open AI say that government agencies can deploy specific OpenAI models on both Microsoft Azure commercial and government clouds as well as using Microsoft’s own Azure AI models for example. This integration brings enhanced management of security, privacy, and compliance concerns, which is crucial for handling non-public sensitive and classified data.

ChatGPT Gov also aims to streamline internal authorisation processes, making it easier for agencies to implement OpenAI’s tools effectively as easily with the relevant guard rails in place.

What about Azure Open AI for Gov

Microsoft Open AI, enables federal, state, and local government agencies to use GPT-3, GPT-4 and 4o along with embeddings via the Azure OpenAI Service REST APIs. This capability helps to improve natural language-to-code translation, semantic search, content generation, and summarisation and for Gov to build and use Microsoft Open AI services across Gov cloud.

Gen AI in Government

Since its introduction, ChatGPT has already seen extensive adoption across the U.S. government as well as here in the UK. I’m. Personally working with a dozen or so local governments and councils here in the UK on AI adoption.

Open AI says that more than 90,000 users from more than 3,500 federal, state, and local agencies have collectively sent over 18 million messages to support their daily operations. This widespread usage demonstrates Open AI and Microsoft’s potential to transform government workflows and decision-making processes.

What about Copilot

While ChatGPT Gov offers a robust AI solution for government agencies, it’s worth exploring how Microsoft 365 Copilot also serves these needs. Microsoft

For many organisations using or exploring Gen AI tools like ChatGPT, many are using a combination of tools and services from different vendors. Open AI and Microsoft are tightly partnered.

Microsoft 365 Copilot is built on Open AI (which in turns runs in Microsoft Azure) and integrates seamlessly with existing Microsoft 365 tools, providing personalised assistance across a range of applications such as Word, Excel, and Outlook and also supports the building (both professional and low code) of autonomous AI agents, and scheduled prompts (coming soon).

This integration ensures that users can enhance productivity and streamline tasks within the familiar Microsoft ecosystem.  So how does Microsoft 365 Copilot differ to ChatGPT?

ChatGPT

  • Targeted for AI-powered chat and conversation but also supports connectors and extebsibikity to other services via extensions and APIs.
  • Recently launched the ChatGPT Gov version for U.S. government agencies and are expected to do similar in other global regions.
  • Deployable on Microsoft Azure commercial and government clouds
  • Doesn’t provide native integration into line of business office apps and services like Office 365, Power Platform and Fabric.

Microsoft 365 Copilot

  • Customised version of ChatGPT that runs in Microsoft 365 Tennant boundaries.
  • Provides chat based conversations and access to company agents and connectors on PAYG basis or via Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription.
  • Embedded within Microsoft 365 applications like Word, Excel, Teams, and Outlook as well as Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.
  • Designed to enhances productivity and efficiency within the existing Microsoft ecosystem and seen as add on to Microsoft 365 on a per user per month billing method.
  • Can provides contextual assistance and automation for daily tasks and workflows through agents and autonomous agents (public preview).

In conclusion, while both ChatGPT and Microsoft 365 Copilot are powerful AI tools, they cater to slightly different use cases

US Government agencies may find ChatGPT Gov particularly beneficial for secure, AI-driven interactions (in place of the general version of ChatGPT) , whereas Microsoft 365 Copilot excels in enhancing productivity and providing natively and seemlessly integration into their wider app services and data. Gov agencies using Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure AI or Open AI deployed in Azure also benefit from enhanced controls and security protection.

It’s great to see Open AI providing dedicated models and instances for central and federal governments.